Labor rules to boost employment for vets, disabled

WASHINGTON (AP) The Labor Department has approved new rules to help boost the number of veterans and disabled people in the work force.

The new rules require government contractors to set a goal of having disabled workers make up at least 7 percent of their employees. The benchmark for veterans would be 8 percent, a rate that could change depending on the number of former military members in the workforce.

The rules could have a major impact on hiring since federal contractors and subcontractors account for more than 20 percent of the nation's workforce.

Labor officials say the benchmarks are only goals and not hiring quotas. But companies that can't provide documents showing they tried to meet the goal could risk having their federal contracts revoked.

KKCO firmly believes in freedom of speech for all and we are happy to provide this forum for the community to share opinions and facts. We ask that commenters keep it clean, keep it truthful, stay on topic and be responsible. Comments left here do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of KKCO 11News.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.